Lamentations 4:13
in Lamentations 4But this was for the sins of her prophets and the guilt of her priests, who shed the blood of the righteous in her midst.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
It is because of the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests, That have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her.
KJV
For the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests, that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her,
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This verse in Lamentations 4
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The blood of the just - Jer. 26:7-24 exhibits priests and prophets as the prime movers in an attempt to silence the word of God by putting Jeremiah to death. Compare the margin reference to Matthew.
This site's exposition
But this was for the sins of her prophets and the guilt of her priests
on Lamentations 4:13-15
Verse 13 lays the disaster at the leaders' door. Verses 14 and 15 follow them out still marked, “defiled by this blood, so that no one dared to touch their garments”. Men cried out at them as at the unclean, and among the nations they found no lasting home.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Here is assigned a reason for the destruction. As a result, wonder would cease. And first, as to fault of prelates: "for the sins of prophets and the iniquities of her priests." Namely, those who ought to govern the people. As the Prophet Daniel 13:5 …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Note, Nothing ripens a people more for ruin, nor fills the measure faster, than the sins of their priests and prophets. The particular sin charged upon them is persecution; the false prophets and corrupt priests joined their power and interest to shed the blood of the just in the midst of her, the blood of God's prophets and of those that adhered to them.
Priests - The ecclesiastical men were a great cause of the first and last destruction of Jerusalem. And so they are of most other places that come to ruin, through their neglect of their duty, or encouraging others in their wicked courses.
For the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
prophets--the false prophets (Jer 23:11, 21). Supply the sense thus: "For the sins . . . these calamities have befallen her." shed the blood of the just-- (Mt 23:31, 37). This received its full fulfilment in the slaying of Messiah and the Jews' consequent dispersion (Jas 5:6).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
For the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests - These most wretched beings, under the pretense of zeal for the true religion, persecuted the genuine prophets, priests, and people of God, and caused their blood to be shed in the midst of the city, in the most open and public manner; exactly as the murderous priests, and blood-thirsty preachers, under the reign of bloody Queen Mary, did in England. However, the profligate priests and idolatrous prophets in Jerusalem, only shed the blood of the saints of God there: but the sanguinary papists, in the above reign, burnt the blood here, for they burnt the people alive; and at the same time, in their worse than Molochean cruelty, consigned, with all the fervor peculiar to their then ruthless Church, the souls of those whom they thus massacred, to the bitter pains of eternal death! O earth, cover not thou their blood!
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
For the sins of her false prophets. [Because of the] false [prophets], this evil has befallen her. 18 Alternately, ‘because of the sins committed against the prophets,’ namely the murder of Zecharyah, this evil has befallen her.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
The blind slithered in the streets. When the blind would walk in the street, they would stagger, and their feet would slip on the blood of the slain, 19 Alternatively, ‘they wandered through the streets blindly.’ whom the wicked were slaying in its [Yerusholayim] midst.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מֵֽחַטֹּ֣את | mechatot | from [the] sins of | H2403 → | 295 times |
| נְבִיאֶ֔יהָ | nevieiha | prophets its | H5030 → | 314 times |
| עֲוֹנ֖וֹת | avonot | [the] iniquities of | H5771 → | 233 times |
| כֹּהֲנֶ֑יהָ | kohaneiha | priests its | H3548 → | 750 times |
| הַשֹּׁפְכִ֥ים | hashofekhim | who shed | H8210 → | 114 times |
| בְּקִרְבָּ֖הּ | bekirbah | in midst its | H7130 → | 227 times |
| דַּ֥ם | dam | [the] blood of | H1818 → | |
| צַדִּיקִֽים׃ ס | tzadikim | righteous [people] | H6662 → |
מֵֽחַטֹּ֣אתfrom [the] sins of
mechatotH2403 →295 times
נְבִיאֶ֔יהָprophets its
nevieihaH5030 →314 times
עֲוֹנ֖וֹת[the] iniquities of
avonotH5771 →233 times
כֹּהֲנֶ֑יהָpriests its
kohaneihaH3548 →750 times
הַשֹּׁפְכִ֥יםwho shed
hashofekhimH8210 →114 times
בְּקִרְבָּ֖הּin midst its
bekirbahH7130 →227 times
דַּ֥ם[the] blood of
damH1818 →
צַדִּיקִֽים׃ סrighteous [people]
tzadikimH6662 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 5:31The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority. My people love it so, but what will you do in the end?
it leads to
- Ezekiel 13:6
They see false visions and speak lying divinations. They claim, ‘Thus declares the LORD,’ when the LORD did not send them; yet they wait for the fulfillment of their message.
- Jeremiah 14:14
“The prophets are prophesying lies in My name,” replied the LORD. “I did not send them or appoint them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a false vision, a worthless divination,…
- Micah 2:11
If a man of wind were to come and say falsely, “I will preach to you of wine and strong drink,” he would be just the preacher for this people!
- Ezekiel 13:6
Through
Jeremiah 6:13“For from the least of them to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; from prophet to priest, all practice deceit.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 23:11
“For both prophet and priest are ungodly; even in My house I have found their wickedness,” declares the LORD.
- Jeremiah 8:10
Therefore I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. For from the least of them to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; from prophet to priest, all…
- Jeremiah 23:11
Through
Lamentations 2:14The visions of your prophets were empty and deceptive; they did not expose your guilt to ward off your captivity. The burdens they envisioned for you were empty and misleading.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 22:28
Her prophets whitewash these deeds by false visions and lying divinations, saying, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says,’ when the LORD has not spoken.
- Isaiah 58:1
“Cry aloud, do not hold back! Raise your voice like a ram’s horn. Declare to My people their transgression and to the house of Jacob their sins.
- Jeremiah 5:31
The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority. My people love it so, but what will you do in the end?
- Ezekiel 22:28
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Lamentations
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Lamentations.